Legislative Update: Spring Wrap Up

Now that the legislature has moved into a summer session calendar it’s time to wrap up on some of the issues that have been on the radar of the Medical Society, let’s review:

Budget:

This year saw another cut scheduled for Graduate Medical Education with the introduction of the Governor's budget recommendation. Governor Snyder wanted to take $17 Million out of the program for other uses, the legislature in some ways disagreed with that recommendations and only took $8.5 Million which was much better than what the Governor has recommended. Primary care physicians will now start to see an increase in Medicaid rates thanks to the Affordable Care Act providing an increase in Medicaid funding to the tune of $281 Million. Included in Medicaid now is payment for services surrounding Autism and OB/GYN's receiving a small bump in their reimbursement rates. We now look to find a way to restore the $8.5 Million that was cut from GME in the coming months.

Helmet Law:

This spring the long battle to keep helmets on motorcyclists was finally lost with the Senate pushing the repeal of the helmet requirement for all motorcyclists in Michigan. As disappointing as this development was MSMS continues to push for the safety of all motorists on the roads, motorcyclists or not and is pushing for the tracking of individuals that were involved in accidents and whether a helmet was used to see if personal freedom is really worth the safety of all.

Medical Marihuana:

MSMS worked with members in the House and the House Judiciary committee to help create a narrow definition of what a patient-physician relationship is when concerning Medical Marihuana. The statute currently in place provided no direction on that relationship leaving many ambiguities when dealing with Marihuana. This definition now provides protections to both patient and physician when dealing with certification for the substance. This bill was sent to the Senate where it is in the Senate Judiciary committee awaiting a vote to the Senate floor.

Abortion:

Before the House left for the summer they attempted to jam a package of bills through the House that dealt with four issues supported by right to life. These issues ranged from the banning of the practice of tele-abortions to requiring increased levels of liability coverage for those who perform a certain amount of abortions. This was a heated issue between those for and against leaving for one interesting committee meeting where then the bills were voted out of committee on the same day as the hearing, which is uncommon for this legislature. This practice left some with a sour taste in their mouths leaving for nothing short of a floor fight which left some members without speaking privileges after the debates on the House floor. The main bill of the package was passed out sent to the Senate, where it is unknown if the Senate even wants to address this hot potato.

Autism:

A small victory but one that could lead to total mental health parity, the legislature finally required that health insurers, private and public, cover the costs associated with Autism. Those who were against providing the coverage were finally able to come to a compromise with the help and encouragement of the Lieutenant Governor. This issue has been close to him since he was a member of the House, so it was fitting that he signed the bill the put this into law. MSMS hopes that this issue will not stop here and the fight will continue until we get total mental health parity.

Tort Reform:

MSMS over the past month has started to push tort reforms for the purposes of finding ways to increase access to patients all over Michigan who need the care. With the Affordable Care Act reforms hanging the balance, the increase of patients who cannot gain access just by the sure numbers of physicians are staying stable while the demand rises sharply, we find that there is simply not enough in the workforce to meet the demand. With the reforms it would make Michigan a more attractive place to practice medicine providing more opportunities for physicians to come and practice here, answering the question of how we address those who need the care and can't find it. The bills started in the Senate and still await a vote from the Senate Insurance committee. MSMS is hopeful that the legislation will be move soon to help those patients who need it the most.

MSMS now looks towards the fall where issues like tort reform, auto insurance reform, and others still linger from the spring session. Once the legislature gets back into session, MSMS will continue to cover all of the activity for you. Just go to http://www.msms.org/advocacy to stay up to date with all that is happening in Lansing and beyond. The Legislative update will be back in July to cover the one session day scheduled for the legislature.